Mr_Stray's Story - Age 22 now with added pictures!

[Mr_Straylight]

Good evening,

I've been lurking on this forum for far too long (years in fact) and its about time I said hi.

People first started to notice thinning in my crown at 15 (kids can be so cruel cant they?) I got on propecia 10 days short of my 18th birthday. I'm now 21, turning 22 in December. I've got very little recession at the temples with a thinning crown (i'll upload some pictures shortly).

I'm pretty tall and to be honest with you, I don't get all that many comments about the loss. Recently (as I work in an office now) i'm getting more and more useful remarks. "are you going bald?" which, in a strange way I see as a compliment...If i've been balding for 4 - 5 years and people are STILL asking "are you" not telling me "you are!" then i think the treatment is doing the business.

Anyway, lets list what i've done about it over the years...

Started on Propecia approx 4 years ago... added biotin tablets about a month into it and stopped taking them about four months in.

Added Minoxidil about a year in (using on the crown only)...I switched to the foam about 4 months ago and have since swapped back to the lotion.

I've used Nizoral on and off for about two years.

Inbetween i've tried a 'lasercomb' of sorts (a cheap one from a well known auction site that i'm not sure if im allowed to mention) and the 'magic comb' which you may or may not have heard about. Basically its a square piece of plastic with some metal prongs that you comb over your head. This produces some uncomfortable tingling ( I got desperate for results! forgive me!) and not a lot else. I've also used various "hair loss vitamin pills".

To be honest that's all I wanted to say. I'm not going to give you a big old sob story about how unfair life is because I think we're all in the same boat. As i mentioned, i'll upload some pics shortly as we all love some pictures! I'd like to think I can answer a few questions for people that are just starting out or whatever you like. I feel i've been around / treating long enough to give some input. Cheers.

Stray

 

[Hans Gruber]

Re: Mr_Stray's story - (age21 thinning at 15, lurking for years)

Good evening,

I've been lurking on this forum for far too long (years in fact) and its about time I said hi.

People first started to notice thinning in my crown at 15 (kids can be so cruel cant they?) I got on propecia 10 days short of my 18th birthday. I'm now 21, turning 22 in December. I've got very little recession at the temples with a thinning crown (i'll upload some pictures shortly).

I'm pretty tall and to be honest with you, I don't get all that many comments about the loss. Recently (as I work in an office now) i'm getting more and more useful remarks. "are you going bald?" which, in a strange way I see as a compliment...If i've been balding for 4 - 5 years and people are STILL asking "are you" not telling me "you are!" then i think the treatment is doing the business.

Anyway, lets list what i've done about it over the years...

Started on Propecia approx 4 years ago... added biotin tablets about a month into it and stopped taking them about four months in.

Added Minoxidil about a year in (using on the crown only)...I switched to the foam about 4 months ago and have since swapped back to the lotion.

I've used Nizoral on and off for about two years.

Inbetween i've tried a 'lasercomb' of sorts (a cheap one from a well known auction site that i'm not sure if im allowed to mention) and the 'magic comb' which you may or may not have heard about. Basically its a square piece of plastic with some metal prongs that you comb over your head. This produces some uncomfortable tingling ( I got desperate for results! forgive me!) and not a lot else. I've also used various "hair loss vitamin pills".

To be honest that's all I wanted to say. I'm not going to give you a big old sob story about how unfair life is because I think we're all in the same boat. As i mentioned, i'll upload some pics shortly as we all love some pictures! I'd like to think I can answer a few questions for people that are just starting out or whatever you like. I feel i've been around / treating long enough to give some input. Cheers.

Stray

welcome aboard! sounds like you have exacly the right attitude to hairloss and sounds like treatments are doing their job,keep it up and hopefully there will be a cure in a few years to come!

 

[Mr_Straylight]

Re: Mr_Stray's story - (age21 thinning at 15, lurking for years)

Cheers! good to be here!

 

[Mr_Straylight]

Re: Mr_Stray's story - Now With Pics!

Afternoon,

I posted my original story months back when I was 21. I'm now 22 and decided to add some pictures. I started treatment when I was about 17 / 18 so i've been at it around 6 years. I've altered my routine countless times from when I started, but just recently I've noticed a massive improvement! strange after such a long time. Anyway, I've a couple of shots below and if anyone's interested in what i've tried / what I'm doing now I'll reply. Cheers guys.

 

[abovedagame]

I'm interested! Please share

 

[Mr_Straylight]

Initially I started just on finasteride, went for about a year and it seemed to stop or at least slow down the loss. Switched to a generic version because of cost! I then added Minoxidil and to be honest didnt notice a great difference at first, but after about 6 months - 8 months there was a bit of regrowth, pretty minor I would say.I bought a hair stimulator from some website and used that for about 6 months. Initially I thought it might be doing something, but really difficult to tell so I packed that in. In terms of vitamins, I added biotin at this point but ended up just buying a multi-vit.

All of this seemed to halt the hair loss but I was getting very little hairgrowth (somewhere in there I also bought the dodgiest looking laser comb you've ever seen!). Anyway, in the past few months I've added nizoral and MSM (fairly large dose everyday) and I've noticed excellent results. I think the combination of everything is actually paying off. In terms of a routine, I use rogaine foam in the morning as it dissolves quickly, and the lotion at night. One 1mg finasteride a day plus 4 MSM capsules and multivit (works out quite cheap if bought in bulk) I try and eat lots of fruit and veg as well... And I use Lo'real thickening shampoo but it's too early to give a verdict on that.

I realize this routine is nothing new or radical but I thought I would share it anyway. I've been at it for years!

Stray

 

[My Backwards Walk]

So, I'm back... under a new name as I don't have my old email address any more. 3 Years on. Anyone interested in how I've progressed?

 

[kthxbi]

definitely interested. keep us updated man, everyone loves long term threads like this. hope you're doing well still, take care.
f

 

[My Backwards Walk]

So it has been some time since I first posted my story (over 4 years) and thought it was time for a bit of an update. As I said in my original post, I was just short of 18 when I started taking Propecia and I’m now 26. I’ve stayed on my routine consistently for over 7 years. My regime hasn’t changed a great deal in that time but I have added and dropped the odd thing here and there.

My current regime is as follows:

1 x finasteride every 2 days or so,
Foam on the front and back in the morning and at night,
2 x msm capsules daily
3 x ‘hair and skin’ tablets (from a well-known store in the UK) daily.

I also occasionally use Nizoral, perhaps once every couple of weeks and every now and then use a very cheap laser comb which I purchased from an auction site.

The good news is I have pretty much the same level of loss as when I last posted and I even think it may be a little thicker. When I was younger I had far more comments about it than I do now. I will post updates pictures for you to take a look at. Really I’m here for any questions about long term use of tablets etc. Thanks.

 

[Kirby]

If you're in the UK, you should get a liver function test every 6 to 12 months when on finasteride long term. That's what the consultant dermatologist I saw in November told me.

 

[My Backwards Walk]

If you're in the UK, you should get a liver function test every 6 to 12 months when on finasteride long term. That's what the consultant dermatologist I saw in November told me.

Thanks for this, fortunately I'm covered through my annual work checkup. No problems reported so far! Let's hope it continues.